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Are Humans Hot Enough to Survive a Fungal Apocalypse?
Description
New research has identified massive fungal blooms in North America in the Cretaceous period, suggesting significant ecological upheaval before and after the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. In this episode: Arturo Casadevall, senior author of the study, explains why these findings are so significant and his hypothesis that fungi gave mammals an evolutionary leg-up over reptiles.
Guest:Dr. Arturo Casadevall, PhD, MS, is chair of the department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a global expert in host defense mechanisms, fungi, and antibody-based therapies. He is also co-author of the book What If Fungi Win? with Stephanie Desmon.
Host:Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content:-
Fungal Surges Marked Cretaceous Mass Extinction that Ended Age of Dinosaurs—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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What zombie show 'The Last of Us' gets right about fungus in a warming world—Washington Post
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What If Fungi Win?—Johns Hopkins University Press
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The Discovery of a New Clade of Candida Auris—A "Critical Pathogen"—Public H